A miracle try from St George Illawarra fullback Darius Boyd broke Canterbury's resistance as the Dragons notched a thumping 25-6 NRL victory at the SCG on Sunday.

Boyd's brilliant intercept was hailed as match-changing as he single-handedly saw off a Bulldogs comeback with a freakish grab with Canterbury looking certain to score.

The Dogs had fought back from 15-0 down to make it 15-6 when five-eighth Kris Keating looked to have any number of support players that would soon have the Dogs just three points behind.

But the momentum that had been with the Bulldogs was suddenly gone as Boyd raced 80m to make it 21-6 after 61 minutes.

"Last week (Newcastle's Jarrod) Mullen made a break and I kind of went for it too and just missed it," Boyd said.

"I had a few guys around me which helped.

"I just thought he was going to throw it and luckily it came off."

Boyd's skipper Ben Hornby didn't hesitate in calling it the match's turning point.

"They were starting to make a bit of a run but once Darius got that pass we were all pretty relieved," Hornby said.

"That was match changing. That's what good players can do and that's what Darius is."

The match was always going to be an early season test between two contenders and it left the Bulldogs now contemplating back to back losses, while the Dragons are four from five.

"It is a big moment," Canterbury coach Kevin Moore said of Boyd's effort.

"I thought we did well to fight back.

"If we had of got to 15-12, who knows what might have happened.

"We had plenty of momentum but we didn't (score)."

Off-contract Boyd will have rival clubs even more eager for his sublime talents, although he is widely expected to follow Wayne Bennett to whichever club the master coach chooses.

"It was great to see him going the other way," Bennett said.

"They were trying to get back in the game. They got the try and were picking their momentum up and there was no more crucial time in the game.

"You could see them coming back and we got a little bit of luck."

The Dragons revelled in the wet conditions, smothering the more error-prone Bulldogs with four tries to one in front of 31,122 brave fans.

Veteran St George Illawarra centre Matt Cooper handed hobbling Canterbury star Jamal Idris, who suffered a corked thigh, a reality check by bagging a double.

The only bad news for the Dragons was interchange forward Dean Young being placed on report for a 58th minute lifting tackle on Dogs half Trent Hodkinson.

"The Dragons love (opponents' mistakes)," Bulldogs captain Andrew Ryan said.

"As soon as you make errors against them they make you pay and they certainly did that today."

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